ASSOCIATION OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION WITH NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND FOOD INTAKE.

Introduction: the H. pylori infection affects more than half of humanity, being a public health problem. Its prevalence is significantly higher in developing countries like Brazil. It has been suggested that H. pylori infection may influence the intake and caloric homeostasis.
Purpose: to compare nutritional status and food intake of patients attended by National Health System, with and without H. pylori infection.
Methods: 140 patients were assessed. They performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to investigate the presence of H. pylori. Body weight and height of the patients were measured. Food intake was investigated through two 24-hour recalls, with data transformed in grams and analyzed in DietWin Professional 2.0 software. The findings were compared using the chi-square test or Student's t-test, adopting p < 0.05 as significance level.
Results: there was predominance of patients with excess weight for both Hp - (60.3%) and Hp + (67.7%), with no difference between them. Food intake of assessed groups was similar.
Conclusion: no differences were found in nutritional status and food intake between the two studied groups.
(Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)